bobsthename write: My experience with American Express went like this...I got a green AMEX 20 years ago when I entered into business, and I spent something like $40,000 a year on it in the course of doing business over a few years. My brother, in University at the time, broke and penniless, somehow got a platinum card...paid the $100 or whatever the fee was for the prestige and fun. he kept rubbing it in my face telling me that I had to have Platinum. Anyway, I applied for the Platinum card....and I was declined. Yet I made good money (I wasn't in school), spent a lot on AMEX and always paid it off with no interest or penalties. When they declined me, I decided...to heck with all these cards, and I dropped everything and just stuck to my VISA. I know have pretty much one card, VISA ( OK so I have 3 VISA's, but they each have business reason for being) and everything is on one bill. A few years back, an AMEX telemarketer called and asked me to join, and I told them the story above they told me...sorry sir, we can only offer you a green AMEX card at this time. I said thanks but no thanks...and so I spend about $400,000 on my 3 VISAs every year, always paid up to date, but don't even qualify for a farging Platinum card, never mind the black card. And frankly, I'm very happy with my VISA, other than the credit limits. It's everywhere you want to be.

I'vc been with Visa for 27 years, never had any real problems but minor glitch, AMEX has sent me lots of applications and they all went in the garbage bin...why pay a fee yearly? when you can have a card FREE ? and if you don't pay your card on time you get floored with high interest rates anyway ? I pay Visa $25. a year fee and they give me lower interest rates, and they always send me special cheques at 2.90 % interest rates for 6 to 12 months duration., not that I used them often but once in a while I do, for buying stocks while I am buying and selling..just deduct the interest rates of my incomes taxes..but you caan't go wrong at 2.90 % much lower than prime bank rates. I save that much on interest in a year to pay my $25. fee.

Everytime one of these companies sends me a pre-paid return envelope, I have the kids fill it up with whatever will fit and send it back to them. I remember them sending a couple of plastic arm men once. Or coupons for Depends. If everybody did this they would not be able to afford bulk mail.

sharp1 write: American Express must be wasting alot of money on mail, because for the past 2 yrs they also send me to applications/month and I just file them. Just a plain jane card that gives you a 1% return? Where can I pick one of those up? My card charges me 21% if I don't pay my invoice off monthly. Sheesh...I've got the wrong card!

Everytime one of these companies sends me a pre-paid return envelope, I have the kids fill it up with whatever will fit and send it back to them. I remember them sending a couple of plastic arm men once. Or coupons for Depends. If everybody did this they would not be able to afford bulk mail.

Receiving your bill a month later is a killer. A couple of years ago, the air lines lost my luggage in Costa Rica just prior to my boarding a cruiseship. I had 1.5 hrs to replace everything! Insurance only covered up to $400 Cdn. All the vendors quoted me in USD, so I multiplied it by 1.5 to conver to CDN $'s which was close, but not quite that at the time. I spent around $560 Cdn...when I received my Visa bill a month later I had been charged not in USD, but CR money and it was over $900 Cdn! Lesson...even if quoted in USD...watch what currency you are actually being charged in.

my plain VISA pays me 1% back annually. Bank of Nova Scotia. I also have a TD US Dollar Visa, the only bank that has one in Canada. VISA rips you off on the exchange and when you buy all the stuff I buy in the US, it saves a lot of money. The biggest pis.ser is getting a foreign exchange refund on a credit card. Because you get ripped off both ways on the exchange and if the exchange went against you during the time of the charge and the credit, you get hit even harder. I remember being double charged once on a hotel stay in the US, something like $500...by the time I got my credit card statement a month had passed. Well, they peeled off $10 on the exchange on the first transaction that I never made, another $10 on reversing it, and another $10 on the decline of the exchange rate. So a $500 charge that I didn't make, that was not my fault, cost me $30.

American Express must be wasting alot of money on mail, because for the past 2 yrs they also send me to applications/month and I just file them.
Just a plain jane card that gives you a 1% return? Where can I pick one of those up? My card charges me 21% if I don't pay my invoice off monthly. Sheesh...I've got the wrong card!

My problem with American Express was not that I couldn't get one, but a lot of businesses would not accept it because they charged a huge transaction fee. That was back in the 1970's. I cut mine up and sent it in with my last payment. They have sent me an application at least twice a month for last 30 years. I wouldn't touch it. M/C and Visa are much better. JMHO.

bobsthename write: My experience with American Express went like this...I got a green AMEX 20 years ago when I entered into business, and I spent something like $40,000 a year on it in the course of doing business over a few years. My brother, in University at the time, broke and penniless, somehow got a platinum card...paid the $100 or whatever the fee was for the prestige and fun. he kept rubbing it in my face telling me that I had to have Platinum. Anyway, I applied for the Platinum card....and I was declined. Yet I made good money (I wasn't in school), spent a lot on AMEX and always paid it off with no interest or penalties. When they declined me, I decided...to heck with all these cards, and I dropped everything and just stuck to my VISA. I know have pretty much one card, VISA ( OK so I have 3 VISA's, but they each have business reason for being) and everything is on one bill. A few years back, an AMEX telemarketer called and asked me to join, and I told them the story above they told me...sorry sir, we can only offer you a green AMEX card at this time. I said thanks but no thanks...and so I spend about $400,000 on my 3 VISAs every year, always paid up to date, but don't even qualify for a farging Platinum card, never mind the black card. And frankly, I'm very happy with my VISA, other than the credit limits. It's everywhere you want to be.

I've never heard of this card, but like you Bob I stick to my one card VISA gold...it's the only bill I have to pay off at the end of the month, no interest. You don't like their limits? They keep increasing mine every 6 months whether I ask for it or not! With 3 cards, spending $400,000/year...that's only $11,111/month...you better call Visa and have a talk with them...that's pretty low! lol Are you sure you're paying your bills off monthly? lol

My experience with American Express went like this...I got a green AMEX 20 years ago when I entered into business, and I spent something like $40,000 a year on it in the course of doing business over a few years. My brother, in University at the time, broke and penniless, somehow got a platinum card...paid the $100 or whatever the fee was for the prestige and fun. he kept rubbing it in my face telling me that I had to have Platinum. Anyway, I applied for the Platinum card....and I was declined. Yet I made good money (I wasn't in school), spent a lot on AMEX and always paid it off with no interest or penalties. When they declined me, I decided...to heck with all these cards, and I dropped everything and just stuck to my VISA. I know have pretty much one card, VISA ( OK so I have 3 VISA's, but they each have business reason for being) and everything is on one bill. A few years back, an AMEX telemarketer called and asked me to join, and I told them the story above they told me...sorry sir, we can only offer you a green AMEX card at this time. I said thanks but no thanks...and so I spend about $400,000 on my 3 VISAs every year, always paid up to date, but don't even qualify for a farging Platinum card, never mind the black card.
And frankly, I'm very happy with my VISA, other than the credit limits. It's everywhere you want to be.